A conventional ratchet wrench is shown in FIG. 8 and comprises a wrench head 11 and a handle 12 integrally formed therewith. The wrench head 11 comprises a circular opening 15, a recess 18 of arc section formed on the wall of the opening 15, and an internal channel 14 having one end in communication with the recess 18 and the other end in communication with an oblique shoulder 13 between the wrench head 11 and the handle 12. A reversing pawl 22 is provided in the recess 18. A groove 24 is formed on top of the reversing pawl 22. A substantially Y-shaped reversing lever 30 is disposed on the reversing pawl 22 and is received in the channel 14. The reversing lever 30 comprises a bottom projection 33 mounted in the groove 24 and a thumb tab 32 projected from both the channel 14 and the shoulder 13. A cylindrical socket 40 is fastened in the opening 15 by means of a split ring as known in the art and comprises external ratchet teeth meshed with external pawl teeth of the reversing pawl 22 and internal drive teeth adapted to engage with a member (e.g., bolt head) to be torqued. A user may move the reversing lever 30 by manipulating the thumb tab 32 in a distance defined by the width of the channel 14 for switching clockwise driving and counterclockwise ratcheting to counterclockwise driving and clockwise ratcheting or vice versa.
However, the prior art suffered from several disadvantages. For example, it is difficult to mold the channel 14 since height of the shoulder 13 is relatively small. Moreover, the form of the structure is not precise. Height of the shoulder 13 may increase for overcoming the above disadvantages. However, it may detract from its external appearance. A user may have difficulty in manipulating the thumb tab 32 by the fingers since it is flat and is very close to the surface of the handle 12. This is particularly difficult if a user wears a glove during operation. Thus, the need for improvement still exists.